Death Knight Box Set Books 1-5: A humorous power fantasy series

by Michael Chatfield

  “Corruption.” A voice boomed through the heavens. The dust cleared as a knight stood in the skies.

  She felt a cleansing power roll off from the knight as others ap- peared in the sky, formed of a purple power.

  A courtroom appeared in the skies and purple chains shot out of the city, grabbing the attacking army and dragging them into the central square. Those who came into range were snatched up as well. The people from the army fell into disarray; they started to turn around and flee. Those who had been hunting down the other groups that had fled looked back at Laisa.

  Letanya was grabbed by those chains that wrapped around her wrists and dragged her toward the court resting in the middle of the sky. Its power seemed to be waning as she looked up at the peo- ple in the stands.

  That is a knight of the Light!

  She felt her heartbeat picking up as she looked up at the man standing in the court.

  Have they come to cleanse the world of the unclean and destroy those who do not follow the Light?

  The people in the court all sat down. Their expressions were dark.

  Letanya shot forward in front of the court. She looked at the other judges. Many of them wore armor that showed that they had been knights of the Light.

  “What is this? She wears our armor?” the beast kin wearing the armor of the Light said.

  “Look at her core power—the power of chaos rests within her.” Letanya tried to fight against her chains, seeing these people dare to wear the Lord of Light’s holy armor. She was close to going insane. You dare to blaspheme the Lord of Light and the church. I

  will destroy you. I will cut down your lineage and use their screams to cleanse your stain from Dena!

  “Letanya.” The human knight of Light said her name. His voice rumbled across the land.

  Her eyes snapped to him, confused why he wasn’t killing the stains around him. She didn’t notice the anger, mixed with disap- pointment, in his voice.

  “Destroy that power of chaos,” he said to the elven knight of the Light.

  The elf raised his hand and the power within Letanya started to shake and tremble, trying to fight and escape.

  The power of Light was drawn out of her body. The white light dimmed and turned into a purple vapor, flowing into the purple courtroom, stabilizing it.

  She saw emblems on each of the members of the court. Each of them wore the symbol of the cursed—the evil eyes that looked to corrupt and destroy.

  She raged as the power of the Lord of Light left her body. She was left panting as the last dredge of power left her body.

  She felt sickly, as if something were wrong with her.

  What is this corruption? Letanya looked into her body, where the power of the Lord of Light had been. A deep corruption filled her body. Her perfect appearance started to warp. Her skin became see-through in places, chaotic power moving through her body.

  “It looks like she had been partially transformed into a chaotic beast,” a dwarf said in disappointment.

  “The truth is before her but the lies have clouded her judgment.

  Aefir, show her the truth,” a hobgoblin said.

  The knight of Light raised his hand and a purple and white light appeared on his finger. It shot forward and touched Letanya’s head. Her head snapped back as information filled her mind. She gasped; her head flopped forward and she stumbled a few steps.

  Information flooded her mind. As it did, her beliefs—the truths she had held onto—started to come apart. The corruption at her core that had influenced her mind and her thoughts was sup- pressed. For the first time in years, she was able to think clearly.

  The elven mage and the rocky sphere worked together as cor- rupted power was drawn out of several members of the Radal army. Each of them looked around, as if confused, revisiting what they had done in the past.

  “The power of corruption makes one more violent and leads them to acting upon their impulses. But it is only an aid; it is not what starts one acting in the manner that you did. You will be tried for your crimes.” The knight took his helmet off, revealing a gray- haired man with glowing white eyes.

  Aefir the First.

  She saw the badge on his chest, confused.

  “I am bound by the rules of the ancestors and of Dena that be- lieve you can atone for your sins. Who can atone for killing chil- dren, for killing goblins who are supposed to be under their pro- tection!” His voice rumbled like a force of nature, making all feel a chill to their very souls. In his eyes, looking upon the people of his own race, there was nothing but rage.

  “Army, Church of Light. Murderers and rapists, you spit on your ancestors. You spit on Dena. You stain the human race.” His voice came out in a hiss, barely restraining his own anger.

  “Thankfully, there was one already serving out a sentence with- in the city.” The gnome in the courtroom looked at the gnome on the ground, panting. He was unable to get to his feet. The gnome in the courtroom sent power down to them. They came to and got up quickly, noticing what was happening.

  “Guardian Judges.” The gnome didn’t seem to know what to

  do.

  “Go and help the others. We will take care of these. Go some- where safe. There will be more of them coming,” the gnome judge said.

  “Thank you, Guardian Judge.” The gnome turned and ran to- ward where people were still yelling and screaming in the distance. There were wounded who needed to be helped.

  “Maybe I should take over this case. I may be the most neutral, as they are unable to reach me and my people,” the stone sphere said.

  “Agreed,” Aefir said. The hammer moved through the air and to the sphere of rock.

  “Letanya, let us review your crimes.”

  An eye appeared in front of Letanya as she was thrown back in time. She was a young girl again, being taught by Father Woods of the Church of Light, told how to get inside the beast kin city, to destroy them for her parents.

  It clashed against her memories from Aefir, from the small churches. Those who followed the Lord of Light were healers, knights, and clerics who offered their services freely to people all across Dena, no matter what race they were. They didn’t care about people’s religion; they just looked to heal. They fought against the corruption. They became Guardians to heal the land and help more people. Her mind shifted again. Now she was looking at the city, the dead around her, the church as they slaughtered and killed, how she had been washed up in it, wanting to belong, be one of them. People looked up to them; she killed, she stabbed, letting out the anger of her mother and father. She had never noticed it before, but now in her memories that were clear as day, she saw the wed- ding band on the beast kin man’s hand, the tears down his face as he knew he wouldn’t see his loved ones again. Then the stillness as she had cheered and the others had joined in with her.

  Crimes passed through her mind: the lives she had destroyed, those she had ended. She knew the corruption in the church, its dark underbelly. What she had been blind to was now brought out again.

  After a lifetime, she hung there limply, her eyes dull.

  “Looking away from a crime doesn’t mean you weren’t part of it. It means that you allowed it to continue,” the sphere of rock said.

  Those words hit hard as Letanya’s mind was clear and she tried to find excuses, fall back on the fact that the Church of Light was righteous. Those words couldn’t pass her lips.

  She could only tell the truth.

  “Why did you carry out these acts?” the rock sphere asked.

  “It felt like the right thing to do,” she said. It was such a simple answer, but it encompassed all of her motivations.

  Chapter: Ignite the Fire of Change

  Anthony and Claire walked through the halls. They came to a stop, talking to each other. Anthony looked over Claire’s shoulder.

  “That is the meeting room that they use,” Claire said.

  “Looks like they’ve got about ten powerful guards around the place. Are those people th
e saints I’ve heard about?”

  “Stop moving...bit to your right.” Claire used his breastplate to look over her shoulder. “Yeah, that should be them.”

  “Well, should we go and say hello?” Anthony’s hand slid closer to his sword.

  Claire pulled out her timepiece. “It’s ten minutes in. They should all be there.” Claire turned, facing the heavily protected room.

  Where did they put you? Claire sent out a spell but there was no response. She sent it out again, calling out to something.

  “Well, this won’t be messy,” Anthony said.

  “I thought you liked going through the front door,” Claire asked.

  “Well, you know, looks badass,” Anthony said.

  Claire worked her lips, finding it hard to keep in her laughter.

  She raised her hand. Spell formations appeared around all of the guards; lightning shot out and into their bodies. They shook and shuddered before collapsing to the floor. A second spell made gas fall on them, knocking them out.

  Three saints guarded the room: one was bleary and stunned; the other two were shaking the effects of the spell off.

  Anthony charged forward. He dodged one attack, moving per- fectly so that Claire’s Ice Bolt hit them in the stomach and threw them against the wall that seemed to turn to clay as they sunk in be- fore solidifying, making them a part of the wall. At the same time, she casually raised a stone spike, piercing another’s foot as Anthony

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  dodged their blade and punched them in the face. Claire withdrew the spike and they dropped to the floor. A spell formation appeared in their face, giving them a dose of green gas. Anthony grabbed the remaining saint by the hand, picking them up and then kicking them. She changed the density of the wall they were traveling into, a spell formation on the wall as they sunk in chest deep; the floor wrapped around the gassed saint on the floor while the formation disappeared and the wall became stone again.

  They flowed together, chaining their attacks together perfectly. “We still got it, my little badass battle mage.” Anthony moved

  to the door. He drew upon his power. Gold, black, green, and a faint red appeared on his blade as the air around him shot past, clearing dust and rubble. The sash around his waist rippled wildly.

  He drove his sword forward into the door. The doors struggled as power cracked through its structure. The door exploded with a loud noise, the defenses defeated quite handily.

  The doorway was ricocheting off the walls and ceiling and she could now see into the meeting room beyond.

  A blast of power shot out from within the meeting room, strik- ing Anthony in the chest.

  He raised his sword but he wasn’t able to deflect it. Anthony went shooting past Claire.

  “Seems they’re not morning people.” He dug his feet and blade into the ground. With a surge of power, he rushed forward. The doors were opened to reveal several leaders of the Church of Light sending out blasts of their special Lord of Light power.

  I can taste the corruption and chaos in their attacks. They can’t be humans. Reinforcements are coming in. Claire raised several spells, firing them into the room. She used her other hand to alter the walls and floors to create barricades to stop or slow the enemy rush- ing toward the meeting room.

  Anthony moved forward, dodging attacks and shooting his own back.

  Purple power—faint, only wisps of it—was being gathered to- gether on Anthony, his Guardian emblem clear to all as he rushed forward.

  “I’ve come for you!” Anthony yelled as a hammer appeared in his hands. He struck it down on the air. Power surged as the Agents of Chaos were wrapped up with purple chains and judges appeared. They didn’t have their impassive expressions that they normally wore when they were overseeing a case. Their deep anger created a powerful pressure on these Agents of Chaos.

  The chains expanded as their illusions were broken.

  There were three Drafeng commanders and one regular Drafeng.

  “Looks like a bit more than Agents of Chaos. We have a nest of commanders,” Anthony said, panting.

  He’s having to use his own power. The power of Dena is restricted here by the formations on the different pillars.

  “Guardian,” one of the Drafeng commanders hissed.

  Claire looked at the saints pinned to the walls as they started to move oddly.

  “Guardian Anthony!” the dwarven judge yelled out as a beam of chaotic power came from the hallway.

  A man leading other saints charged forward. His blast struck Claire, who had been at the entrance to the meeting room, some twenty meters and then through a wall.

  She used a flight spell, stabilizing herself as she looked at An- thony.

  The Drafeng in human illusions fired on the courtroom, tear- ing through the purple judges and the court. Their power con- sumed the power of the Guardian’s Judgment, forcefully destroying it.

  The saints on the wall and floor broke free of their bonds. They started to transform, the power of Dena within them being con- verted into chaotic power as they transformed into chaotic beasts. The Drafeng were covered in a white glow as they started to trans- form into their combat forms.

  “Kill the leaders of darkness. Angels of Light have come to as- sist us!” the man who had struck Claire called out.

  Anthony defended himself, but the backlash from having his Guardian’s Judgment forcefully cancelled drained him of his power temporarily, being a magical being he was fighting to stay on his feet.

  Claire let out a yell as the mana in the area was disturbed. She fired spells back at the Drafeng. The room was shredded apart with exploding meteors.

  With her left hand, a rainbow of prismatic light shot forward in a cone. People burned; others were covered in acid, lightning, poison; still others were hit with cutting cold, crying out in pain. Some were restrained and other blinded. One of the newly trans- formed chaotic beasts cut out at a Drafeng.

  Their limb glowed with chaotic power, cutting through them and leaving a dying husk. They absorbed their chaotic power, restoring their strength and repairing the cold damage. They cut off their limbs, regrowing them with chaotic power.

  Claire used Wind Blade, slicing through several chaotic beams of power. Anthony was struck, being hurled out of the open wall.

  The mana around her surged and funneled through a spell for- mation, creating a raging inferno of flame that filled the meeting room and the halls around it. The heat was enough to warp the floor as flames spat out over the balconies.

  Claire muttered another spell under her breath.

  A semi-sphere shield appeared around Claire as she dual cast a weight-reducing spell on Anthony and a weight-increasing spell on

  herself. She shot down, dodging the chaotic blasts as she grabbed Anthony.

  “Mana chaotic—head is fuzzy,” Anthony said.

  Claire used Stone Shape on a wall in front of her, using it in a circle. She threw Anthony; he crashed into the circle. It fell inward and he crashed into the ground.

  Claire was pushed forward by a blast hitting her back.

  She finished chanting her spell. Several shining doves shot out from her hands. They landed on Drafeng and chaotic beasts, as well as saints who had appeared and not changed. Their eyes turned gold as they fell under her spell and started to attack one another.

  She was only able to affect a few as she cast Illusion on herself and used voice amplification.

  “Kill the creatures of darkness! The darkness has invaded our church!” she yelled out, looking like one of the people she had seen in the room before they had shed their human illusions.

  She used Domain of Silence, covering the commanders so they couldn’t argue.

  “Come, priests, guards! Saints! Kill them!”

  The church was stirred into action, given direction now. Some said that she was using an illusion, but they were few and seeing the saints and the guards fighting the chaotic creatures, they rushed in to join them in the fight.

  Th
e Drafeng didn’t care, slaughtering their way through. Lances of chaotic power landed on Claire’s shield, pushing her backward. She dove into the floor she had opened up an entrance to.

  Anthony was getting to his feet.

  “So much for a knight. Are you okay?” Claire asked.

  “Let me get back to you on that. My power is nearly gone, can barely call up anything.” Anthony looked punch-drunk as he swayed on his feet.

  By reaction more than conscious thought, he raised his sword, defending himself.

  “Good punchy shield.” Claire moved behind him and started casting. Using him as a new barricade, she fired past him. Mana bolts collided with chaotic beasts, cutting open wounds. Several ballistas appeared on either side of her. They fired out bolts that changed between red, white, and green: fire damage, cold damage, and poison damage.

  Once the bolt was released, the ballistas’ magical construct turned into motes of light as Claire replaced them. The chaotic beasts were growing in number.

  “How many people did they corrupt? This place is like a damn hive!”

  Three of the Drafeng commanders worked together, shooting at Claire and Anthony. She grabbed him, casting Fly.

  If we stay here, we’ll be pinned down.

  She flung him over a balcony between the bridges; she adjusted him and aimed for the Lord of Light statue.

  Little middle finger to the assholes.

  She increased his weight as she flipped around her body. She let out a crackling laugh. Mana flowed through her veins instead of blood. Her eyes turned purple as green and black power covered her body.

  She flipped, dodging attacks as the Drafeng and their people charged down the tower, and jumped onto bridges, causing them to crack and break. Debris and dust rained on people below.